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Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer will aim to deliver an election-winning financial package on Wednesday. But he will effectively have one arm tied behind his back. It wasn’t meant to turn out this…

Is former Better Together leader right about consequences of income tax devolution?
Chris BolandNovember 26, 2014

Alistair Darling, writing in the Financial Times, warned this week that the full devolution of income tax to Scotland would increase UK borrowing costs and expose Scotland to the destabilising ups and…

When the television debates on Scottish independence were announced in the early summer, many observers suggested that Alistair Darling would be a lamb to the slaughter, with Alex Salmond playing the wolf…

Can the genie be put back in the bottle?
Andrew Milligan/PASeptember 11, 2014

Will the heady blend of Westminster love-bombing, ominous corporate warnings and a saltire flag over Downing Street be enough to persuade the Scots to come back into the fold? We have already looked at…

What is Scotland voting for? Voters in Scotland will go to the polls on September 18 and answer the question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The result will be determined by a simple majority…

Salmond/Darling: don’t get carried away with the snap polling.
David CheskinAugust 26, 2014

To work out who won the debates between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling, you have to ask the audience. The trouble is that different audiences will tell you different things. If you asked the studio…

Darling appeared to struggle in the second debate.
David Cheskin/PAAugust 25, 2014

When Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling lined up for the first TV debate on August 5, Darling came out the surprise winner for the Better Together campaign. Few would disagree that the positions were reversed…

The first leaders’ debate was meant to be an opportunity for Scotland’s uncommitted – though not necessarily wholly undecided – voters to make up their minds about which way to vote. Yet whether it succeeded…

The claws were out for Salmond and Darling’s first live televised debate.
Andrew Milligan/PA WireAugust 5, 2014

The leaders of the rival campaigns in Scotland’s independence referendum battle have clashed in the first televised debate ahead of the September 18 poll. So, who came out on top? David McCausland, Head…

General elections can be divided into a long campaign that can run from as early as the previous poll and the more intense short campaign that kicks off towards the end. The Scottish independence referendum…